Abarth 500e review: The Italian brand’s smash-hit city car, electrified

Abarth is the performance division of Fiat, and as such, the 500e is a boosted version of the Italian brand’s smash-hit city car and convertible. A more powerful motor gives the Abarth enough punch to feel quick, and chassis mods manage to make it more responsive in corners without ruining ride comfort.

The Abarth’s cabin has the same packaging issues as the Fiat’s - so there’s precious little space in the rear seats and it’s a nightmare to climb in and out of the second row. The boot is on the small side, too.

However, funky styling cues and an artificial sound generator (yes, really) help to give the Abarth 500e a cheeky character that few other EVs can get close to. The nearest rival is probably the MINI Cooper E, which is even better to drive and has a slightly more practical cabin - but costs a bit more.

We spent several days with an Abarth 500e Convertible in the UK, and experienced a mix of conditions - everything from bone-dry roads to damp, dirty country lanes.

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Independent rating: 7/10

Abarth’s spec of single front motor in the 500e produces 152bhp, and plenty of instant EV torque. So while 0-62mph comes up in seven seconds, a figure that’s trumped by many hot hatchbacks these days, in reality the beefed-up 500e feels quick enough. Both pedals are nicely modulated, too, so it’s quite an easy car to drive smoothly. There’s even a single-pedal mode so you can drive around town using only the throttle and allow brake-energy recuperation to bring you to a halt at junctions and traffic lights.

What hasn’t changed compared with the regular 500e is the battery, so you’re stuck with the same 42.2kWh capacity. The official range of the fixed-roof Abarth 500e is 164 miles, which is pretty modest in this day and age. And there’s no heat pump, either, so you can expect this range to shrink in cooler conditions.

Things get worse on the range front if you pick the Convertible, which weighs a little more because of the extra strengthening required to cope with the fabric roof. A fully loaded Turismo edition of the Abarth 500e Convertible only manages an official 150 miles to a single charge; think 130 in the real world.

Charging is slow, too. You get an 11kW AC charger as standard but that’s of limited use to most people who charge at home. And the rapid DC charger maxes out at 85kW, which is poor by modern EV standards. Abarth says it can take the battery from empty to 80 per cent of capacity in 35 minutes.

Where the Abarth 500e really has to deliver, therefore, is in the driving experience - and luckily, it does. It’s not the last word in involvement but there’s definite pleasure to be drawn from how the car points keenly into corners and then hangs on like a limpet through bends. The steering is satisfyingly meaty, to give that ‘performance-car’ feel, and while the suspension is undeniably on the firm side, there’s still enough sophistication in the set-up to ensure that it doesn’t get too upset over bumps and potholes, even at low speeds.

To enhance the driving thrills further, Abarth has fitted a sound generator - literally an external speaker system that’s designed to mimic the slightly unruly burble so loved by buyers of the brand’s petrol-powered 595 and 695 models of recent years. In the most part it’s plain annoying - particularly if you don’t want to wake up the neighbours with an early-morning departure. Deactivating it is far too involved a process, too - a simple on/off button would be a godsend.

And yet on the right road, in the right moment, the sound of engine revs rising - even though you know they’re fake - still adds something to your interaction with the 500e. It’s a far from perfect solution, but at least it’s an attempt, and that’s more than you can say for pretty much every other performance EV.

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Fiat’s reborn 500 has never been the last word in interior packaging, and that’s equally applicable to Abarth versions. The rear seats are only really suitable for younger children, and actually getting them in out of there will not be the work of the minute.

At least the cabin manages to feel reasonably premium, with scope for plenty of customisation via the Abarth options list. The overall finish isn’t quite as posh as the latest MINI Cooper E’s, however.

The boot is tiny, regardless of whether you choose the regular 500e or the 500e Convertible. The regular hatchback has a capacity of 180 litres, which is a good 100 litres down on most city cars and superminis. The drop-top is even less practical overall, with a capacity of just 155 litres - and while you can lower the rear seats in both versions to free up a bit more space, the actual boot opening is pretty tiny so you’ll still find it hard to load larger items. Despite the car being based on a pure-electric platform, there’s no storage under the bonnet either, so you’ll have to throw any shopping bags in on top of your charging cables.

All versions of the Abarth 500e get a crisp seven-inch digital instrument panel, and a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, incorporating navigation. It’s not a bad set-up but the interface is a bit fiddly, so we’d be tempted to use the standard wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

We’ve touched already on the sound generator system but it’s worth repeating that this is one key bit of tech that sets the Abarth 500e apart from not only its sister Fiat but also all of its key rivals. It’s far more than the sort of sci-fi hum that most EVs produce to warn nearby pedestrians; it’s the sort of deep, loud burble that’s likely to annoy the neighbours. You can switch it off but you’ll have to delve far too deep into the dashboard menus to do so.

Elsewhere, the regular Abarth 500e has pretty much all of the main tech you’d need, including climate control, a rear-view camera, electrically adjustable side mirrors and cruise control. The Convertible gets an electrically operated mechanism for its fabric roof, too. Stepping up to Turismo editions brings larger 18-inch alloy wheels and snazzier interior materials, including posh Alcantara suede on the seats, plus an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated seats and a heated windscreen.

On paper, the Abarth 500e looks pretty expensive, with a starting figure, in base hatchback trim, of almost £35,000. Be bold with the options and a fully laden 500e Convertible in range-topping Turismo spec will comfortably breach £43,000.

However, Abarth, like Fiat, has taken it upon itself to step in where the UK Government has failed and offer an electric-car grant of its own. It’s little more than a glorified promotional incentive but even so, it’s hard to complain about it too much when it cuts £3,000 off the list price of every Abarth 500e. This brings the entry point of the range down to £31,195, which is roughly where MINI’s Cooper E range begins - although while that car has an even smaller battery, its more efficient motor delivers notably more range than the 500e’s.

The standard vehicle warranty on the Abarth 500e is a regular three-year deal with a limit of 100,000 miles. You shouldn’t have any worries about battery reliability; Abarth backs the 500e’s pack to retain at least 70 per cent of its capacity for eight years or 100,000 miles.

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The 500e’s maximum DC charge rate is a pedestrian-looking 85kW. But the small battery helps with refill times; getting from empty to 80 per cent of capacity will take 35 minutes. The car has an 11kW onboard AC charger as standard, which can refill the battery completely from empty in four hours and 15 minutes. Most domestic wallboxes operate at 7kW, though, so they’ll require considerably more time.

The Abarth 500’s list prices are pretty punchy for a car with a relatively small battery, no standard heat pump and modest real-world range. Fortunately, Abarth is matching sister brand Fiat’s e-Grant scheme, which slashes £3,000 off the list price. That still hardly makes it a cheap car, but it’s more palatable with a starting figure just over £31k.

The Abarth 500’s battery pack has extra coverage beyond the car’s manufacturer warranty. Abarth guarantees that it will keep at least 70 per cent of its original capacity for up to eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

It’s a tough objective choice, the Abarth 500e. It’s not a great electric car on paper, in both fixed-roof and Convertible form, with slow charging speeds and a small battery. The cabin is cramped for any more than two adults, too. But it has a sense of fun that few other EVs can match, so it deserves its place in the market. We’d still pick a MINI Cooper E over it, mind.